McMahon redefines the game of politics in Connecticut

Neil Vigdor, Staff Writer

Published 10:01 pm, Saturday, October 30, 2010

Turn on the television, there she is.

Open up the mailbox, ditto.

Even the solitude of drive time isn't what it used to be.

In Linda McMahon, the voters of Connecticut have been introduced to a candidate the likes of whom they have never seen before and might not see again -- an omnipresent force who has redefined what it means to run for public office in the Land of Steady Habits.

The former chief executive of Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment has single-handedly made the bitter contest to fill the seat of the retiring U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., one of the most expensive congressional races in the country.

In her slick and relentless advertising blitz, McMahon casts herself as a pragmatic outsider who has thrived in the results-oriented corporate world, knows how to create jobs and isn't beholden to special interests because she is bankrolling her own campaign.

McMahon's foes look upon her as a cutthroat pretender who is anything but a model corporate citizen, is vague on key issues such as Social Security and Medicare reform, and was embraced by the GOP establishment simply because of her bank account.

A stranger to the political process save for her brief and what some critics describe as an unremarkable tenure on the state's school board, McMahon has invested in excess of $41.5 million to try to defeat longtime Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in the marquee match-up.

"The investment is worth it because I expect to be the next U.S. senator, and I'm making this investment so I can go to Washington to make change," said McMahon, 62, who is married to the pugnacious and controversial promoter of the WWE brand, Vince McMahon.

Democrats labeled McMahon, who won a three-way Republican primary in August over former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., and economist Peter Schiff, as a flash-in-the-pan.

"Anybody who thinks they're going to televise their way to victory now is not going to win, Democrat or Republican," said Jim Dean, chairman of the liberal grassroots organization Democracy for America.

"She has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at him," Dean said of McMahon's attacks on Blumenthal. "I think, at this point, all the McMahon campaign has been reminding voters is that they have a lot of money that they can spend on TV."

`I don't need a job'

McMahon's backers say that all the money in the world doesn't make for a successful candidate and that she has charisma and a message that resonates with voters, whom she has made the huge time commitment getting to know.

"Republicans chose Linda McMahon over two other good candidates because she speaks to what the country is, in essence, all about, which is freedom and opportunity," said Chris Healy, the state's Republican Party chairman. "This is not a year to be cut from political cloth like Dick Blumenthal, because the political class failed us."

McMahon said it wasn't ego or personal gain that led her to the race a year ago September but the belief she can better relate to the daily struggles of small businesses, entrepreneurs and families than Dodd.

"I don't need a job," McMahon said in her native North Carolina twang. "I don't need a career."

Dodd announced in January he would not run again. Many Democrats heaved sighs of relief, believing that he would have been a likely casualty of the midterm elections because of VIP mortgages he received from loan giant Countrywide, his controversial decision to move to Iowa for the 2008 presidential caucus and criticisms he had been lax in his congressional oversight of the banking industry.

"Remember, this was a race that when it was clear that Blumenthal was going to be the guy, and this was before the controversy over his Vietnam comments, it was written off," said Stephen F. Hayes, a senior writer at The Weekly Standard and a Fox News Channel contributor.

A prohibitive underdog at the time, McMahon slowly chipped away at a 41-point deficit in the state's leading public opinion poll, the beneficiary of an aggressive campaign machine and some self-inflicted wounds by Blumenthal.

Blumenthal suffered a severe blow in May, when it came to light that he exaggerated his military record to say he served in Vietnam when he was a reservist at home.

Blumenthal's once-commanding lead eroded to just 6 points in September, a margin that bulged back up to 12 points in the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

"Our internal numbers have this race much, much closer and closing," said McMahon, who, like Blumenthal, lives in Greenwich. "I've got my foot on the accelerator, and I'm not letting up."

`Politics at its worst'

McMahon is not without baggage of her own.

Five former WWE wrestlers under the age of 60 have died since she declared her candidacy. That trend has led critics to accuse her of disregarding the welfare of her employees, whether it be making them sign so-called "death clauses" releasing the WWE from liability or not providing them health coverage as independent contractors despite the physical demands of the industry.

McMahon excoriated Blumenthal's campaign for enlisting the father of former WWE star Chris Benoit, who murdered his wife and son before taking his own life in 2007, to appear on the trail this past week.

"It's just a real seamy side of politics, politics at its worst," McMahon said.

To win on Tuesday, the conventional wisdom is that McMahon needs to do well among female voters, a group polls show favoring Blumenthal.

McMahon spent the early party of Thursday trying to make that last-minute connection, mingling among 850 women during a Breast Cancer Alliance luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich.

Some of the women fawned over McMahon, who made a low-key entrance into a giant tent, while others kept their distance.

"If we didn't have World Wrestling Entertainment, it's incredible how the economy of Connecticut would suffer," said Lolly Prince, a former first selectman of Greenwich.

McMahon said she is making in-roads among women and doing better than is perceived.

"I've not found that or any push-back on the campaign trail," McMahon said. "I really do think that women really hold each other accountable to a high standard. They're very discerning."

Staff writer Neil Vigdor can be reached at neil.vigdor@scni.com or at 203-625-4436.